Book binding machines



y 19, 1955 H. w. TAYLOR 2,713,212

BOOK BINDING MACHINES Filed Aug. 22, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet l I lmmvme N HHRR) Mum/*1 Term/e WQAL Ha July 19, H, TAYLOR 2,713,212

BOOK BINDING MACHINES Filed Aug. 22, 1952 3 Sheets-sheet 2 w YYMAS- Mob 4 TTOR/YEX July 19, 1955 I H. w. TAYLOR BOOK BINDING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 22, 1952 v m'o HARRY MAL/977572201? ATTOENEX United States Patent 1309K BINDING MACHINES Harry William Taylor, Chingford, London, England, as-

signor to Smyth-Horne Limited, London, England, a British company Application August 22, 1952, Serial No. 305,749

6 Claims. (CI. 34-66) This invention relates to book binding machines and more particularly to a method and means for conditioning the glue applied to the backs of books in a gluing machine, prior to rounding and backing.

Hitherto one of the difficulties encountered in using gluing machines for applying glue to the backs of books was that as the books left the machine the glue was in a very fluid and sticky condition so that it was necessary to stack the glued books, prior to rounding and backing, in such a manner that the glued edges of the back of one book did not come in contact with the corresponding edges of other books in the stack, thus it was necessary for a skilled operative to turn alternate books, as they were delivered from the machine, so that the glued backs of adjacent books in the stack were on opposite sides of the stack and therefore not in contact with each other. glued books thus stacked were left for a suitable period of time for the glue to dry to a degree of flexibility suitable for effectively rounding and backing. As will be understood this procedure was not only costly in labour but also time consuming and in order to overcome this disadvantage various unsuccessful attempts have been made suitably to condition the glue on the back of the books, as they leave the gluing machine, whereby the need for a special operative to stack the books was avoided and whereby the glue was in a suitable condition for immediately rounding and backing.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved method and means for effectively conditioning the glue whereby the above mentioned disadvantages are overcome and according to the invention the glued back of the books are exposed to blasts or jets of hot and cold air alternately after being delivered from the gluing machine.

supplying hot air under pressure to said series of jets or nozzles, a series of cold-air jets or nozzles alternating with the hot-air jets or nozzles and means for supplying cold air under pressure to said series of cold-air jets or nozzles and means for conveying books past said series of hotir and cold-air jets or nozzles whereby the glued backs of said books are subjected alternately to blasts or streams of hot and cold air ejected from said hot and cold air jets or nozzles.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood one particular embodiment of apparatus in accordance therewith will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a side elevation of the apparatus with parts broken away for the sake of clearness;

Figure 2 is a plan view;

Figure 3 is a part sectional view on the line III-III of Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is a sectional view of a detail on the line IVIV of Figure 1.

Referring to these drawings the apparatus comprises an endless horizontal conveyor consisting of a plurality The An apparatus for carrying out the present invention comprises a series of hot-air jets or nozzles and means for 2,713,212 Patented July 19, 1955 ice of book-supporting plates 5 suitably connected with the links of an endless chain 6 which runs on two horizontal toothed wheels or sprockets 7 and 8 mounted respectively on vertical shafts 9 and 10 which are in turn rotatably mounted in vertical bearing members 9:: and 10a. The endless conveyor is driven by a suitable motor (not shown) through bevel gearing 11 connected with the vertical shaft 1% on which the toothed wheel or sprocket 8 is rigidly mounted. Mounted on cross-members 23 of a supporting frame structure 23a and on opposite sides of the conveyor 5, 6 are two pairs of pipes 12 and 13 which are respectively connected with separate rotary blowers 12b and 13b through branch pipes 12a, 13a and Y-joints 12c, 130. Each of the pipes 12 and 13 are closed at their ends and provided along their length with a series of jets arranged to direct streams or blasts of air in a direction substantially at right angles to the direction of travel of the conveyor 5, 6 and directly onto the glued backs of books 15 (Fig. 3) as they travel past said jets on said conveyor 5, 6. The series of jets in the pipes 12 and 13 may consist of a row of simple holes bored in said pipes or may consist of special nozzles fitted to said pipes. In accordance with the invention blasts or streams of hot and cold air are blown, alternately, by means of said jets or nozzles, onto the glued backs of the books 15 carried by the conveyor 5, 6. In order to ensure that one of the pipes of each pair of pipes 12 and 13, for example pipes 12, are supplied with cold air under pressure by the blower 12b and the other pipe of each of said pairs of pipes, for example pipes 13, are supplied with hot air under pressure by the blower 1312. For this purpose heaters, such as electric resistance heaters, are mounted in the branch pipes 13a connecting the pipes 13 with the blower 13b. In order to ensure that the glued backs of the books are subjected to blasts or streams of hot and cold air alternately the jets or nozzles in pipes 12 are staggered relative to the jets or nozzles in the pipes 13.

The endless conveyor 5, 6 is so arranged that its forward run, that is the run of the conveyor travelling in the direction of arrow A, is in alignment with a belt conveyor 16 adapted to convey books from a gluing machine (not shown) and deposit them onto the main conveyor 5, 6. In order to facilitate this a roller 17 and a guide plate or chute is arranged between the belt conveyor 16 and the main conveyor 5, 6.

The conveyor belt 16, which is mounted on two pulleys, one of which is shown at 19, is driven by the same motor (not shown) as drives the conveyor 5, 6 said pulley 19 being connected to the driving shaft 20 of the motor by a belt drive 21. The driving connection between the pulley 19 and the driving shaft 29 and the bevel gearing 11, through which the conveyor 5, 6 is driven, are so arranged that the conveyor belt 16 from the gluing machine travels at the same speed as the conveyor 5, 6.

In operation each book, having been glued in known manner by a suitable gluing machine, is conveyed from said gluing machine by conveyor 16 and deposited onto the forward run of the main conveyor 5, 6 which then conveys the book in the direction of arrow A, past the pipes 12 and 13 on one side of the apparatus whereby the glued backs of the books are subjected alternately to blasts of hot and cold air ejected through the aforesaid jets or nozzles in said pipes 12 and 13. The conveyor then carries the books to another side of the apparatus where they are again subjected to alternate blasts of hot and cold air from pipes 12 and 13 as they travel in the direction of the arrow B on the return run of the conveyor. The books thus treated are then ready for the rounding and backing operation and are removed manually from the conveyor 5, 6 at point C.

it will be understood that the speed at which the books are conveyed past the hot and cold air pipes 12 and 13 and the temperatures of the blasts of hot and cold air to which the glued back of the books are exposed will a completely filled with books, for example at the end of the treatment of a batch of books when books are carried one only apart of the length of the conveyor, the streams of vair ejected through some of the jets or nozzles in the pipe 12 and 13 on one side of the'apparatus may adversely 'affect the streams of air emitted by the jets or nozzles in the pipes 12 and 13 on the opposite side of the apparatus, and to avoid this a baffle plate 22 is arranged between the two runs of the conveyor. This bafde is preferably inclined as shown in Figure 3 so that streams of air coming from one side will be diverted downwardly and streams of air coming from the other side will be diverted upwardly.

What I claim is:

j 1. An apparatus for conditioning the glue applied to the backs of books prior to rounding and backing said books, comprising a series of hot-air nozzles and means for supplying hot air under pressure to said series of nozzles, a series of cold-air nozzles alternating with the hot air' nozzles and means for supplying 'cold air under pressure to said series of cold-air nozzles and means for conveying books past said series of hot-air and cold-air nozzles, said series of nozzles being disposed alongside said conveying means whereby the glued backs 'of said books are subjected alternately to streams of hot and cold air ejected from said hot and cold air nozzles.

.2. An apparatus for conditioning the glue applied to depend on a number of factors, for example the nature the backs of books prior to rounding and backing said books, said apparatus comprising an endless conveyor, a pair of pipes located at each side of said conveyor and each pipe of said pairs provided with a row of holes for directing streams of air substantially at right angles to the direction of travel of said conveyor, a blower for supplying cold air under pressure, branch piping connecting said blower with one pipe of each pair of pipes, a second blower including heating means for supplying hot air under pressure, and branch piping connecting said second blower with the other pipe of each pair of pipes.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the holes in the row of holes of one pipe of each pair of pipes are staggered relative to the holes in the row of holes in the other pipe of said pair of pipes.

4. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the endless conveyor runs in a horizontal plane and has a forward run and a return run, and wherein a second horizontal conveyor is in alignment with the forward run of said endless conveyor for conveying books from a gluing machine onto said endless conveyor.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a roller and a guide plate for guiding books from the second conveyor onto said endless conveyor are arranged between the two conveyors.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a common motor drives said two conveyors at the same speed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

